CITY OF OCONOMOWOC - The city spent $80,213 on legal expenses from 2012-17 over an eminent domain battle with former Alderman Ken Herro and his business partner, Jon Haas, according to documents obtained through an open records request with the city.

Haas and Herro sued the city in February 2015 over "just compensation" for a lot at 219 W. Wisconsin Ave., which the city seized through eminent domain in 2013 for just over $300,000.

In March of this year, the city accepted an offer from Herro to pay the business partners an additional $195,000, which brought the total amount paid for the lot to $500,000, according to city attorney Stan Riffle.

"I think it's fair," Riffle told the council at the time. "I think it's a reasonable settlement. I think it was a very good result for the city.”

The city spent $7,316.10 on the issue in 2012, $19,473.80 in 2013, $116.25 in 2014, $48,177.51 in 2015, $369.70 in 2016 and $4,760.05 in 2017.

A Waukesha County Circuit Court judge dismissed the lawsuit in June 2016 but an appeals court judge subsequently overturned the dismissal.

"Getting these things over with and all these poor decisions way back when, getting them done, is huge for the city," Alderman Matt Rosek said. "We had the lawsuit with Fowler Lake Village, but that was also a previous administration and a previous mayor that caused all that problem. Everything is done. I don't think we have any lawsuits."

Rosek said the city can learn from situations like the lawsuit with Herro and Haas.

"They have to think through these problems before they create these problems," Rosek said. "Think through what could possibly happen if we try to take someone's property. I can tell you the current makeup of the council, in my opinion, is that eminent domain is not looked on very favorably."